Video games in the present moment : flow, mind-wandering, and interoception

Flow theory of optimal experiences was first introduced by Csikszentmihalyi in 1975. It has been debated whether an individual's attention is focused or unfocused while in the flow state. Newer research suggests that attention is intensely focused during the flow state. This coincides nicely with another thread of attentional research: interoception. Interoception is the process of listening, understanding, and interpreting signals coming from the body. The opposite of interoception is mind-wandering. Together, interoception and mind-wandering are ways of characterizing quality of attention. This manuscript looks to link quality of attention (interoceptive awareness and mind-wandering) while playing a video game with quality of experience (flow and spatial presence). Specifically, the study links classic flow theory and virtual worlds presence (another construct associated with optimal experiences in virtual worlds) with neuroscience research on interoception and mind-wandering. The study consists of a 2 (primed for interoceptive awareness or primed for mind-wandering) by 2 (virtual reality or high-definition television) between subject design. Gaming performance and virtual reality (VR) technologies are stereotypically masculine, while interoceptive awareness is stereotypically feminine. Interaction effects of gender were considered throughout the analysis.Results confirm relationships between quality of attention and quality of experience. Specifically, interoceptive awareness while playing a video game had a positive relationship with both flow and spatial presence. The numerous significant interaction effects of gender illuminate more detailed, complex understandings. Among males, using a virtual reality headset strongly resulted in much higher performance. But among females, display modality did not appear to impact game performance. Priming for interoceptive awareness was linked to higher performance among female players and lower performance among male players. Among females, priming interoceptive awareness increased mind-wandering during gameplay in VR and decreased mind-wandering during gameplay in HDTV. This study served as a first step towards understanding relationships between quality of attention with quality of experience, indicating that the relationships may be moderated by gender.